(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to machines, wherein a shaft drives a rotor and a flexible coupling is provided between the shaft and the rotor. Such flexible coupling is especially required in fluid machines, like pumps or motors, because in such machines the rotor must be free of uncentering when it floats around a control body. A typical machine of this field is shown in my Pat. No. 3,223,046.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is best demonstrated in my mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,223,046. Therein a shaft, which is borne in the housing, is provided with fingers, which engage into recesses, which are provided on the shaft-nearest end of the rotor, while the rotor is radially borne on and floating around a stationary fixed cylindrical control body.
The described former art has the difficulty that at high pressures in fluid and high powers in the machine, the fingers of the shaft tend to exert a slight tilting force onto the rotor. At low pressures and power the tilting forces were too low to prevent the rotor from centric revolving. But with the current increased power and pressure requirements in the machines, the forces, which tend to tilt the rotor, are becoming too high and at such high pressures and power the rotor of the prior art can become stuck or welded onto the control body.
In other former art the U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,533 has the means of my above mentioned patent. The McCulloch Pat. No. 717,897 has a drive plate with slots between the shaft and the rotor but before the rotor. The French Pat. No. 1,022,136 of Ladousse has an eccentric rotor prevented from rotation by a pin which extends through a slot in the rotor. The Joensson Pat. No. 658,014 has a swing member mounted in a recess which extend half way into the rotor. The Replogle Pat. No. 1,843,338 has a swing member arrangement which extends with pins which swing through slots in the rotor, to permit long radial movements of the swing pin relative to the rotor.
The Benedek Pat. No. 2,137,936 has radially adjustable pins which extend through radially and peripheral wide slots in the rotor. The Krone Pat. No. 932,033 has drive plates on the end of the rotor. The French Pat. No. 649,437 has a drive plate on the end of a rotor wherein the drive plate has radially extending slots and pins which are fastened in the rotor, engage the slots and extend into the slots. The Wilking Pat. No. 1,714,706 has one single arm with a pin and a slide shoe which enters into a radially extended slot to permit a large eccentricity between two rotary members.
Of the above mentioned patents of the former art all patents except my own Pat. No. 3,223,046 and the Thoma Pat. No. 3,750,533 deal with rough rapid movements on rotors, where the rotors are strongly forced to run concentrically relative to the control body. The strong enforcement of concentric running permits engagements which can have friction or imperfect designs.
My own Pat. No. 3,223,046 and the Thoma Pat. No. 3,750,533 have the rotor floated concentrically relative to the control body.
On the contrary to all the devices of the former art, my present invention permits the rotor to float eccentrically relative to the control body in order to decrease the leakage between the rotor and the control body.